


Aura and Other Mysteries

by HealthInspector



Series: PMD Writings [7]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon
Genre: Canon: Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Telepathy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-07
Updated: 2020-01-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:13:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22154584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HealthInspector/pseuds/HealthInspector
Summary: Vallea ruins Espurr's morning while trying to figure out how to use aura.
Series: PMD Writings [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1395541
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	Aura and Other Mysteries

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place before the events of Super.

In a boring world, Serene Village would live up to its name. The spring morning would decorate the grass with glistening dew, the sun would rise from the horizon and paint the sky in shades of blue and white, and the resident Pokemon would greet the new day with tranquility and calm.

But this was not a boring world. This was a world with Vallea in it. And this Riolu had a question that only one Pokemon could answer. Vallea broke up the morning’s serenity with a loud knock on the door.

“Espurr! Open up! It's me!” she yelled.

There was no response, not even a whisper. Vallea waited a few seconds, then knocked again, louder this time.

“Are you in there? I’ve got a question for you!”

The only reply was the grass rustling in the wind. Espurr had to be in there, right? It wasn't as though there was anywhere else she could be. Vallea was just about to knock again when the door opened. Espurr stood in the doorway, her grey fur ruffled and her eyes dull.

“Do you know how early it is?” Espurr asked, her voice as quiet as ever.

Vallea tilted her head. “How early?”

“It’s too early,” Espurr said, rubbing her eyes. “I’m pretty sure the sun just rose a few minutes ago. Why on earth are you awake at this time?”

“I told you already, I have a question!”

Espurr stared blankly, seemingly debating whether to shut the door in Vallea's face. For a fleeting moment, she worried that Espurr would tell her to leave.

Espurr sighed. “What’s your question about?”

Vallea fought the urge to cheer. Instead, she said, “It's about your telepathy! You can talk to other Pokemon using your mind, right?”

“That’s a rather simplistic explanation, but yes.”

“Well, Pops told me that Riolus like me have something a bit like that! He said it was ‘aura’, or something along those lines,” Vallea said, tugging at her aura tassels for emphasis. “But I don't really get what that means. So I was hoping you could help me figure that out!”

“Couldn’t this question wait until later in the day? It's the weekend. I was hoping to sleep in.”

Espurr placed a paw on the doorknob, but Vallea stopped the door before she could shut it.

“C’mon, please!” Vallea said. “If we leave this until later, it’ll keep bugging me and driving me crazy! I really, really want to figure out this whole aura thing, and you’re the only one who can help me!”

Espurr gave the door another push, but Vallea refused to budge. The two stared at each other from opposite sides of the doorway. Vallea put every ounce of determination and bravery she had onto her face. It seemed to work, as Espurr was the first to break eye contact.

“In case you haven’t noticed, I am not a Riolu,” Espurr said, letting go of the doorknob, “How am I supposed to help?”

Vallea tapped her head. “Like I said, you’ve got that telepathy of yours! You never know, it could be like aura. Maybe if you just explain how you use your mental powers, I could figure out how to use mine. And besides, I know how much you like to teach people! I see you helping Goomy all the time.”

“Yes, well, that’s at school. We're not at school right now. But…” Espurr pressed a paw between her eyes. “If I say no, you’ll keep bugging me, won’t you?”

“Yep!”

“Fine. Come in. I’ll explain how-”

“All, right! Thanks!” Vallea surged through the doorway and pulled Espurr into a hug.

Espurr stood rigidly in her grip. Vallea waited for her to reciprocate the hug, but she made no such motion.

“…Are you finished?” Espurr said.

“Um, yeah. Sorry.”

Espurr visibly relaxed as Vallea let her go. After brushing herself off, she moved further into the house, beckoning the Riolu to follow.

“Come in and we’ll figure this out,” Espurr said.

The home’s interior was dark and musty, its curtains drawn over the windows. Dust floated and swirled in circles around the two Pokemon. The room wasn’t bright enough; the only real light was the sun shining through the doorway. One wall was lined with bookshelves, and another had a doorway leading to what she assumed was the bedroom. As Espurr led her further into the house, she found that she had to tread carefully; every inch of floorboard was covered by some book.

“Your house is a mess,” Vallea said. “I didn’t think it was possible to own this many books. Maybe you should clean up!”

“I wasn’t expecting guests,” Espurr said coolly as she shut the door.

“Oh, right. Sorry. I forgot about that. You’re not mad, are you?”

“I’m not mad, just sleepy. You did wake me up, after all. Have a seat.”

“O-okay.”

The wooden chair was so rickety and frail, it seemed like it would break if Vallea so much as touched it. But it remained intact as she sat down. Espurr sat across from the Riolu, leaning forward with her paws on the table. With the front door shut, the room was almost entirely dark. A little sunlight broke through a crack in the curtains, drawing a thin line of light across the room. The darkness surrounding them seemed to hide countless secrets. Vallea fought the urge to shudder.

“So, how do you use your telepathy?” she asked.

“Good question,” Espurr said with a sigh. “The fact of the matter is that I don’t really know. This power has always been a part of me, just like my arms and my legs.”

She closed her eyes, and the air seemed to thicken. Within Vallea's mind a voice said, _It’s as easy as breathing_.

“Woah!” Vallea lurched backwards. Speaking a little too quickly, she yelled, “So you’re saying that you can just talk with your mind whenever you want?! I thought it would be really hard! How do you do it? When did you figure out you had it? Was it always this easy or-”

“Vallea, please. I can't answer your questions if you keep piling more on me.”

“Right, okay.” Vallea said, making a conscious effort to talk slower. “Should I just give them to you one at a time and you’ll answer them?”

“That’s how questions work, yes.”

“Okay.” Vallea took a deep breath. “When did you figure out you had telepathy?”

“I first noticed it when I was very little,” Espurr said. “I was sitting at the hill with the big tree, then I felt… something. You know when you feel like someone’s watching you?”

“Yeah?”

“That’s what it felt like. And it felt like whoever was looking at me was behind me. I turned around to look, and I didn’t see or hear anything. But that weird feeling didn’t go away. So I decided to check behind the tree, and there-”

“There I was! I remember now,” Vallea said, leaning forward and grinning. “I was wondering what you were doing there, so I decided to hide behind the tree and… Well, I guess I was spying on you. It's my favorite spot, did you know that?”

“I know. It really is a nice place,” Espurr said with a small smile. “You were much quieter back then. If it hadn’t been for my telepathy, I doubt I would have noticed you.”

“Okay, I guess that makes sense. But how did you make that psychic thing work? Was it really as easy as you say it was?”

“Let me explain. Pokemon have senses, like sight, touch, and hearing. This telepathy of mine, it’s like…” Espurr trailed off and shook her head. “I hate to sound cliche, but have you heard of a ‘sixth sense’?”

“No.”

“Look at it this way,” Espurr said, her ears twitching. “Most Pokemon have five senses, but I have a sixth. And it just so happens that this sense is very useful.”

“How does it feel to use that sixth sense? Does it hurt?”

Espurr giggled. “No, of course not. It doesn't hurt me when I talk normally, right?”

“Yeah, I guess not,” Vallea said, feeling a bit silly.

“So it shouldn’t hurt when I speak with my mind. And it doesn’t.”

Espurr closed her eyes, and the voice in Vallea's head said, _See? This telepathy is just another way of communicating. It’s as simple as talking. It simply uses a different part of the body._

“I have another question. If your psychic power is so easy to use, why does aura not want to work with me?” Vallea said, though it came out as more of a whine. “You make this seem so easy, but I really can't figure it out. I tried to talk with my mind before, but it didn’t work with Pops or anyone else. Pancham saw me trying, and he made fun of me for weeks.”

“Well, maybe aura just doesn’t work that way,” Espurr said placatingly. “After all, you’re a Riolu and I’m an Espurr. Two completely different species and typings. Why should our abilities be identical?”

“But I can’t do anything with my aura, that’s what’s bothering me,” Vallea said, lowering her gaze. “I heard that aura’s supposed to come with all kinds of crazy powers, but I can't even sense Pokemon like you can!”

Espurr sighed and looked down. A few specks of dust flew into the air as she tapped her paw on the table. The dust swirled upwards, dancing around the lone ray of sunlight shining through the crack in the curtain. Espurr watched it rise. Then she stood up, walked over to the window, and pulled the curtain completely shut. The room went dark.

“Hang on, what are you doing?” Vallea said.

“I have an idea.”

“W-what is it?”

“You said you wanted to sense Pokemon with aura, right?”

“Well… yeah?”

Something scraped along the floor, then there was a quiet thump. Vallea realized it was Espurr sitting down.

“What do you say we test you for that ability?” Espurr said. “With the curtains drawn, you can't see me. If I stop talking, you won’t be able to hear me. And obviously, you can't touch, taste, or smell me from where you’re sitting. It may be that your aura grants you a sixth sense like mine. And if that's the case, then you’ll be able to tell where I am, even without your other senses.”

“I didn’t think of that," Vallea said, a spark of excitement igniting her chest. ”Yeah, let’s do this test! How will it work?“

“First, close your eyes.”

“Okay.” Vallea closed her eyes, though it didn’t make a difference in what she saw. Open or shut, all her eyes saw was a black wall. “They’re shut!”

“Good. Now, empty your mind and reach out,” Espurr said.

Vallea tilted her head. “You mean with my arms?”

“No, not like that.”

“Because I can reach out with my arm, if you think it'll help!”

“It won’t,” Espurr said.

“Should I hold my tassels? Will that make it any easier?”

“If you want to make it easier, then stop talking and focus,” Espurr said, a hint of annoyance creeping into her voice. “You wanted me to help, right?”

“Yeah, I did. I don't really get what you mean by ‘reaching out’, but I’ll do my best!”

“Good. Now, I’m going to move to a random spot in this room, and you'll have to figure out where I am. Think of it like hide and seek, except you’re blindfolded,” Espurr said.

“Alright.”

“Are your eyes closed?”

“Yep!”

“Okay. I’m hiding now. Remember, reach out.”

The room grew silent.

Vallea did her best to stop thinking about anything. In the absence of speech, the only sounds were the floorboards creaking gently. Without her sight, she felt strangely vulnerable, as though someone would attack her at any moment. She breathed slowly and deeply, trying to feel any sign of the aura she was supposed to have. The little breeze blowing past her could have been her imagination, or it could have been the wind creeping in through little cracks in the wall.

Vallea felt something pulse. It was like a heartbeat throbbing through a spiderweb, or a tablecloth breathing deeply. It was flowing and weaving through itself and dancing around a single spot in the room. The spot where Espurr was.

“I feel it!” Vallea shouted, opening her eyes and standing up. “Espurr, I feel it! I don’t know what it is, but it’s definitely something! You’re standing in the left corner behind me!”

Vallea sprinted to the window and yanked the heavy curtains open. Sunlight shone into the room, illuminating every last dusty inch of it. And sure enough, Espurr stood in the exact place Vallea said she did. A glow of pride suffused throughout Vallea’s chest, and she smiled wider than she ever had before.

Espurr was smiling too. “See? I told you it isn't that hard. You’ve probably had this aura sensing all along, but you just didn’t notice it.”

Vallea ran across the room, intending to pull Espurr into a hug.

“Erm, no thank you. No hugs, please,” Espurr said.

“Sorry, sorry!” Vallea said, taking a step back. “But still, I can’t believe this. I really can sense aura!”

Espurr chuckled. “Did you doubt yourself?”

“…I guess I did.”

“You shouldn’t have,” Espurr said, folding her arms. “You’re the stubbornest Pokemon I know. Even if aura sensing evaded you, it wouldn’t be able to hide for long. You’d figure it out.”

“I…” Vallea looked away, her face burning. “That means a ton. Thank you, Espurr. Really.”

“It was no trouble. I’m just glad you figured this out. If you hadn’t, you would’ve kept bothering me!” Espurr said with a smile.

Vallea clasped her paws behind her back. “Hehe, yeah… I should probably get going, shouldn’t I?”

“No offense, but I would appreciate it if you did,” Espurr said, already heading for her bedroom. “I have a nice, long nap waiting for me.” 

“Okay, okay. Point taken. Thanks again!”

Through a yawn, Espurr said, “You're… very welcome.”

Outside, the bright spring day seemed full of possibilities. From the hill that Espurr’s house stood on, Vallea could see the entire village. And if she concentrated really hard, she could sense some of the auras of the Pokemon living within it. They were all so different. Some were strong and sturdy, while others fluttered and shook like leaves in the wind.

But there were also two auras coming from beyond the village gates. They were moving towards the village. Who could they be? Serene Village never gets visitors. Vallea racked her brains, then she remembered that Nuzleaf had left the village a few weeks ago. It could be that he was finally coming home. But what about the other Pokemon?

…Maybe Nuzleaf brought a new Pokemon to the village! This could be Vallea’s chance to make a real friend, someone more than just an acquaintance!

With that dream of companionship in mind, the Riolu sprinted towards the village gate in order to greet the new Pokemon. 


End file.
